Us
by ducky48
Summary: Sequel to "On the Other Side of the Dirt Road". It's still the early 1900's. Tim and his siblings start school again, this year with their new sister Abby. Kate has been moved up a year, into a class where she's the youngest and she feels lonely. Ziva wonders about her heritage. And Tony is fascinated to explore the city.
1. Tim

**This is what I came up with. Four chapters, each from the point of view of the other kids. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1 – Tim

The summer was ending. The sun still shone, the birds still chirped and the nights were still warm, but summer was almost over. The weather didn't matter much to Tim anyway; they had fun outside in any season. But it did mean that school was starting again.

School this year would be a little different from last. Most prominently because Abby was starting and she would be in Tim's class. The school they all went to was a small one and therefore a couple of grades were put in the same class. Kate was actually meant to be in Tim and Abby's class but their teacher had suggested that she moved up a grade because she was rather clever. So Tony, Ziva and Kate were to be in miss Dalton's class and Tim and Abby were going to be in miss Hale's.

Tim liked school. He enjoyed reading and writing and especially mathematics. He had a knack for it, as his dad always said. Ziva found it dead boring and would loose concentration halfway through, but Tim could sit for hours, making the numbers fit together.

Last year they'd been four siblings but ever since dad brought home Abby that one time in spring, they'd been five. Sure, she hadn't _really_ become their sister until late June, but they had all counted her in as one of them since the first day.

Either way, four or five siblings had always been many. And since Tim was one of the youngest, his books had all been owned by at least three people before him. It didn't really matter much, they all took good care of them, but sometimes he thought it would've been nice to own something new that was just his. Most of his clothes and shoes had been Tony's and they shared most of their toys. He didn't complain, he knew kids who barely had shoes that were in one piece. For example; Abby's old ones from before she got here looked like they would fall apart any second.

Anyway, Tim was happy to go back to school. He had carefully put all his books and other necessary things in his backpack. He couldn't help but smile a little even as he put away the dishes from breakfast. Kate, who was helping him, looked more nervous than happy. But she did have a steady hand when she passed over the stack of plates to Tim.

Tony and Abby were lazily throwing the empty saltshaker between them and Ziva were up in the bedroom, looking for something, when Jenny walked back into the kitchen.

"You should get going", she said. "You don't want to be late the first day. And put that down, Tony."

She started handing out everyone's lunches and reminded them of important things like "stay together all the way to school, don't wander off" and "wait for each other and walk home together" and simply "be good". Of course they knew all that, but they nodded along to show that they were listening.

"Ziva! Let's go!" Tony called up the stairs as they passed through the hall, out the front door.

Ziva came running down, her bag in hand, and accepted her lunch as Abby handed it over to her.

The sun shone brightly as the five of them walked out from the yard and turned left on the dirt road.

"Is it going to be far?" Abby asked Tim.

"No, not that far", Tim replied.

"It's right by Ducky's", Kate told Abby. "Remember when you were there right after you came here?"

Abby nodded.

"Race you to the crossing!" Tony called out and in an instant they all took off sprinting.

They arrived at the crossroad panting and slowed down to their normal walking pace.

"I beat you", Ziva said, pointing gleefully at Tony.

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did."

"Call it a tie", Tim suggested.

Ziva and Tony glared at each other for a second, but accepted the truce.

The rest of the walk consisted of Abby stopping way too often to look at flowers, Ziva and Kate half-bickering about who knows what, and Tony telling them a ghost story about a crazy man wandering this very road looking for children to eat.

"Tony, you can't tell a ghost story during the day", Ziva said. "It's not scary if it isn't dark."

But Tim noticed Abby clutching to Kate's hand, looking a bit frightened.

"It's not true, anyway", Tim said out loud, mostly for Abby's benefit.

"Of course it's true", Tony said. "Willie McHenry saw him last spring, before school ended."

"You're lying", Kate said.

"No, I'm not", Tony said, but he had a glint in his eye.

Funnily enough, it was William McHenry who showed up first by their side. They had just reached the schoolyard and he had arrived at the same time from the other way.

"Okay, see you at lunch", Ziva said to Tim and Abby as the three older siblings (plus William) disappeared to the classroom upstairs.

"Bye", Tim said and Abby waved slightly.

The two of them walked into the classroom on the bottom floor. The teacher, miss Hale, stood by the blackboard with a smile on her face. The room was filled with kids, but no one had sat down yet.

Tim looked around and recognized most of the older kids. He said hi and waved to some of them and Hilary Fletch went up to him.

"Hi Tim", she said. "Good summer?"

"Hi Hilary. Yes, thank you. You?"

Hilary nodded.

"My uncle brought me and my brother out on his boat."

"Cool!"

They didn't have time to say much more, because miss Hale cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"Hello students", she said.

"Hello miss Hale", most of the class chanted.

"Welcome to a new year of learning. Now, I want the youngest in the front and the oldest in the back. Find a seat, everybody."

Tim gave Abby a little shove forward.

"Go sit in the front", he told her. "I'll be here in the middle."

Abby nodded and carefully made her way to the front and sat down in the right corner bench. Tim stayed where he was, since he was right in the middle, both classroomwise and agewise.

Once everyone had found a seat, class began. Miss Hale introduced what they would be doing this year, starting with the younger and going upwards. Since they were different ages in the class, they would often do different things. Abby and the other younger kids would learn the basics in reading, writing and mathematics, while Tim and the middle crew would go into more depth within those subjects, and the oldest in the class would do even harder levels as well as start reading American history.

They didn't have that much time more than to swiftly look in the books after miss Hale's introduction, before lunch. Tim knew he could eat with his friends, but since it was the first day he and Abby went to find Tony, Ziva and Kate to eat with them. They were sitting under the large oak tree behind the school building.

"Mom made jam sandwiches", Ziva told them excitedly.

Tim instantly looked in his lunch bag and realized she was right. Jam sandwiches didn't come around often. This was special.

"How did your first class go?" Kate asked.

"Good", Tim said.

"Did your teacher talk about anything other than what we would be doing all year?" Ziva asked.

"No, that was it", Tim said. "We looked a little in the books as well, but we didn't have time for anything else."

Abby looked up from rummaging her lunch bag.

"I'm going to learn to read", she declared.

"Enjoy that, Abbs", Tony said. "Just learning to read is easy. When you get up to my grade you have to write essays and know all the multiplications and stuff."

"What's multiplications?"

"You'll learn eventually."

* * *

That night, after dinner, Gibbs asked Tim to go with him to the shed.

"Why?" Tim asked. They were practically never allowed in there.

"I want to give you something", Gibbs said.

They walked outside. It was still warm, even though it was evening and school had started. The sun would go down soon; the sky was starting to get slightly pink. The wind rustled the leaves on the trees and Tim could easily make out both horses and sheep from sound alone.

The shed was in need of some new paint, but the worn look of the wood was sort of homey. Tim had always loved the smell inside. It was what he associated with his dad.

"I made this the other day", the person in question said and picked up something from the bench.

"What is it?" Tim asked.

"It's a bookmark", Gibbs said and handed it to him.

It was a slim piece of wood with carved-out details in no particular shape, but Tim thought they made it look like a fire. He turned it around in his hands and on the other side there were three letters carved at the top. _Tim_.

"I know you like your books", Gibbs said. "And I know none of them are new or really yours. But this bookmark is."

Tim smiled hugely.

"Thank you dad!" he said and hugged him around the waist.

Gibbs patted his head.

"You're welcome, son."


	2. Kate

Chapter 2 – Kate

Kate was trailing after her siblings over the schoolyard. Tony and Ziva were in the front, talking about what Kate guessed was football. Tim and Abby were walking behind them, discussing something else. And then there was Kate. Walking alone.

Five wasn't an even number. She was the odd one out. Or she felt that way at least. Tony and Ziva had always been close and Tim and Abby seemed like best friends nowadays. Kate didn't blame Abby. No, of course not! She loved having her as a little sister. But she was tired of being the odd one out. She was lonely.

And it didn't help that she was the youngest in her class. Some of the older ones picked on her, purposely knocked over her ink or tripped her when she walked by. Many of the students in her class were much bigger than her and she felt a little intimidated.

"C'mon Kate!" Tony called to her. "Class starts any minute."

Kate sighed and sprinted the rest of the way.

The classroom was already almost filled and Kate had to zickzack to her desk in the front. A boy named Devin stuck his foot out in front of her in an attempt to trip her. Fortunately, she only stumbled a step without falling, but Devin laughed anyways. She felt her cheeks going a bit red as she hurriedly sat down by her desk.

She glanced back at Ziva, who was sitting two spots to the right in the row behind her, and Tony, way in the back of the classroom, but neither of them seemed to have noticed the tripping. Of course they didn't; they never noticed. Not even that time when Gretchen Wellington pushed her and she fell to the ground and scraped her hands on the gravel. Her mom had questioned her about it when she saw the marks that evening, but Kate brushed it off and said that she just fell.

After school Kate was last out of the building and found her siblings in a discussion on the stairs. Ziva was the first who noticed her.

"Kate, could you take Abby to Ducky?" she asked.

"Why?"

"Mom asked me to, but I have a lot of homework."

"Sure", Kate said.

"Sweet, thank you", Ziva said. "See you at home!"

She, Tony and Tim disappeared down the road as Kate and Abby walked the other way. Abby peered up at her from under her dark bangs.

"Are you sad?" she asked.

"Nah", Kate said and smiled at her. "I'm fine."

Abby accepted that answer and started talking about something else. Kate just listened and hummed. Ducky's was just a little bit away from school. They ran up the stairs and opened the door. The store was empty besides Jimmy who was standing by the counter. He smiled at them.

"Ducky's in the back, Abby", he said. "Go ahead."

Kate considered going with her but decided against it. They were just going to do the usual weighing. Ever since Abby had come lived with them she'd had to go to Ducky every two months to get weighed and cough and whatnot, because she had been too skinny. Underfed, was a word she'd heard her dad and Ducky use.

Kate walked back outside and sat down on the stairs to wait. The pharmacy wasn't too exciting; she'd seen all it had to offer before. Instead she picked up a stick and traced patterns in the gravel. She dropped it and smiled politely when an older couple walked past her up the stairs and went into the store. They were in there for a couple of minutes before coming back outside with a brown paper bag and Jimmy in a tow.

"If you run out again, just come back", he was saying as he shook the man's hand.

The couple nodded, bid goodbye and walked away. Kate, who had watched the interaction, was surprised when Jimmy didn't go back inside after the couple had disappeared. Instead he sat down next to her on the steps.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Nothing", she said. "Just waiting for Abby."

Jimmy nodded in understanding.

"Did you come straight here from school?" he asked

"Yep."

"Do you like school?"

Kate shrugged. Sure, she liked learning but she wasn't overly enthusiastic about her classmates.

"I liked school a lot", Jimmy said. "I loved reading and math. But I wasn't very popular. I didn't really have many friends."

Kate peered up at him curiously.

"They thought I was weird and nerdy. They knocked off my glasses a lot."

"That's mean", Kate said.

"Yeah", Jimmy agreed. "I was quite lonely. And I didn't have a bunch of siblings to play with like you do."

Kate looked down on her shoes.

"It's not that great", she said.

"I don't believe that. Don't you play all the time at home?"

"Well, yes…" Kate trailed off. They did play a lot all together.

"So at least you have that. Do you have friends at school?"

"No", Kate said quietly. "They moved me up a class. I'm younger than everyone else so no one talks to me. Some of them are mean."

"What do they do?"

"Knock my things over, pushes me or says mean things."

"Doesn't Tony and Ziva say something to those people?"

"They don't notice."

"Ah", Jimmy said and looked up at the sky. "Well, I bet that if you told them when someone was mean, they would stand up for you. Sometimes it's easier when you're three instead of just one."

"Maybe", Kate said, doubtful that they would do that.

Then Ducky came out with Abby and told her to give this slip of paper to her parents. Kate nodded and put it in her schoolbag. She and Abby said goodbye and started walking home. Kate thought about what Jimmy had said. Maybe Tony and Ziva would help if she told them. But she wasn't very sure.

She still wasn't convinced during school the next day. She didn't really want to tell them. If it had been one of them they hadn't gone blabbing to someone else. She didn't want to be a coward. If it had been one of them they would have punched that person right back. That was what she had to do. If someone was mean to her she would punch them.

With that decision in mind she walked out the building for the afternoon break. She couldn't spot any of her siblings so she decided to sit down under the tree and read. The sun was shining and the grass was dry; perfect day for reading. But she only got halfway across the lawn before her bag was ripped from her shoulder.

"Hey!" she called out.

Devin sneered at her and threw the bag to his friend who threw it back. They laughed like it was a fun game. _I've got to do it_ , Kate decided as the rage inside her flared. With a swinging move she knocked her closed fist into Devin's face. There was a bit of a crack, but Kate didn't know if it came from his nose or her hand. It hurt a lot to punch people, apparently. And she didn't even have time to lower her throbbing hand before another one came flying into her own face. It knocked her right to the ground.

"Hey!" someone from way behind her shouted, much like she had done just before.

She heard steps running up to them. Someone grabbed her upper arm and helped her up. She looked to see who it was and was surprised to find William McHenry by her side and Tony and Ziva in front of her, standing between her and Devin like a protective wall.

"What are you doing hitting someone smaller than you?" someone called out angrily and Kate realized that there were at least two other people besides Tony, Ziva and William coming to her aid.

"Yeah, did no one teach you to pick on someone your own size?" Ziva glared at Devin.

"Hit her again and you'll have us to be worried about", Tony threatened.

Both Tony and Ziva were smaller than Devin, but William and the others nodded as well. Devin was smart enough to know when he was at a disadvantage. Him and his buddy couldn't win over five people. So he scrammed.

Ziva turned around and frowned at her.

"Are you okay? You're bleeding!"

Kate brought a hand up to her face and realized that yes, she was in fact bleeding from her nose.

"You should probably have someone clean that up", Tony said.

"C'mon", Ziva said and took her hand.

Miss Dalton opened the door at their knock.

"What have you done?" she exclaimed as she saw the blood.

"Devin punched me", Kate said.

"He did what?"

Miss Dalton ushered her inside, leaving Ziva and Tony at the door. While she cleaned up Kate's face and declared that the nose was not broken, Kate told her what happened. Miss Dalton said that was very stupid and that you should respond to violence with more violence. Kate just nodded. She knew it would be better now. Devin wouldn't dare to go near her with Ziva and Tony watching her back.

Both of them gave her worried glances as they walked in with the rest of the class after the break had ended. Kate was sitting by her desk and smiled at them to show that she was fine.

"Are you okay?" Ziva still asked as soon as they got outside after class ended.

Kate nodded.

"Does it hurt?" Tony asked.

"No, it's fine."

They stopped talking about it after that as they joined Tim and Abby for the walk home. Kate was trailing behind the others, but Ziva stopped to let her catch up. She leaned in and whispered:

"We really will fight him if he does that again."

Kate smiled at her. Ziva grinned back and skipped back up to Tony. Kate might still be the odd one out of the five of them, but at least she knew they cared.


	3. Ziva

Chapter 3 – Ziva

"Catch, Ziva!"

She ran as fast as she could, because she knew how far Tony tended to throw. She glanced over her shoulder and turned just in time to catch the ball. Grinning, she threw it back to Tony who passed it along to Tim. Dave the dog was running after it, sure that it was for him they were throwing this ball. When Abby then failed to catch it, he jumped on her and snatched it.

"No, Dave!" Kate groaned.

They had lost three balls prior to this one because of Dave. Ziva took off after the dog, determined to get it back. But she couldn't catch up to him, so she stopped and slapped her knees.

"Come here, Dave", she called.

The dog stopped and looked at her with the ball still in his mouth.

"Come on, Dave", Ziva tried again. "Give me the ball."

While he was distracted by her, Tony creped up behind him. The wrestling match that followed was a close game but at one point the ball fell out and Kate was quick to snatch it.

"Got it!"

Dave looked up and when he saw that he had lost the ball, he sullenly padded over to a consoling Abby. Tony was left behind sprawled out on the ground. He sat up with dirt in his hair and a full-on grin on his face.

"Nice catch there, Zee-vah", he said.

"Nice wrestling", Ziva grinned. "Too bad you lost."

"I didn't loose! We got the ball back, didn't we?"

"But you were definitely not winning."

He glared at her but when he knew she wasn't serious, he laughed and got up.

"We have it, but it's all covered in dog-drool", Kate said, holding the ball with two fingers.

"Stick it in the rain barrel", Tim suggested.

Either way, the game was over because Jenny came out and called them in for dinner. Tony and Tim took the lead with Kate close behind. Which left Ziva and Abby.

"Ziva?"

"Yes, Abbs?"

"How big are boats?"

"Huh?"

"How big are boats?"

"I don't know. Depends, I guess. Why are you asking?"

Abby shrugged.

"Just wondered. Kate said you came on a boat when you were a baby."

"Yeah…?"

"Why did you come from a boat?"

"I didn't come from the boat", Ziva explained. "The boat came from somewhere else probably and I was on it."

"Oh", Abby said. "Where did it come from?"

Ziva frowned.

"I don't really know."

Abby just accepted that answer and the subject was dropped. But Ziva couldn't help but think more about it. Where _had_ the boat come from? She knew babies came from mothers' bellies, but she, Ziva, hadn't come from her mom's belly. Where had she come from? Why wasn't she there anymore? Why had she come here, to Jenny and Gibbs? Why were they her parents?

These thoughts kept her unusually quiet all night. It didn't matter much because Tony and Tim were loud enough for all of them. When she went to bed the questions still kept her mind busy. She heard Abby and then Kate fall asleep in their beds, but she was still fully awake.

She tossed and turned for a long time. When she couldn't take it anymore, she silently crawled out of bed and creped carefully across the floor as to not wake her sisters. She went out the door and closed it behind her. She could see light from the bottom of the stairs but there was no sound. Walking silently down the stairs was apparently impossible, they creaked every other step. Halfway down Ziva just gave up and walked the rest normally.

Her mom and dad were sitting on the couch in the den. Both of them were reading a book. But they both looked up when she entered.

"Ziva", Jenny said. "Why aren't you in your bed?"

"I couldn't sleep", Ziva said.

"Is something the matter?"

"Yes", Ziva said and Gibbs and Jenny shared a quick glance.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked.

"I was wondering something", Ziva began. "I'm not your baby."

"Of course you are", Jenny looked confused.

"No. Not from the beginning. You've always said I came with a boat and that I already had my name. But where did the boat come from? Where did I come from?"

Jenny and Gibbs looked at each other again, but this time they looked a little bit sad.

"Come sit down, honey", Jenny said and stretched out her arm towards her.

Ziva walked up to them and sat down next to her mom. Jenny put her arm around her shoulders and held her close.

"Where did the boat come from?" Ziva asked again.

"Israel", Gibbs said.

"What's that?"

"It's another country."

"Is it far away?"

"Yes", Gibbs nodded. "It took many days to travel by boat from there to here."

"You were born there, honey", Jenny said. "But the people who had you from the beginning, they died."

Ziva nodded. This she could understand. She knew people died and that would explain why she wasn't with the woman who had her in her belly.

"But why didn't I stay in Israel?" she wondered.

"Because…" Gibbs seemed to struggle to explain.

"Because the man who had you in the beginning", Jenny continued for him. "He knew your dad from a long time ago."

Ziva looked up at Gibbs, surprised. He nodded in confirmation.

"He wanted us to have you, because he knew we would love you very much", Jenny said.

"Okay", Ziva said slowly. "But who brought me on the boat if they were dead?"

"Another woman. A friend of theirs'. She was brought you here to us and then returned to Israel."

Ziva sat quiet for a little while, thinking things over.

"So I'm not really your kid?" she finally said.

"Yes you are", Gibbs said instantly.

"You see, Ziva", Jenny began. "It doesn't matter where or to whom you're born. What matters is who you love and who loves you. The people that care for you and love you are your family. We knew we were meant to be your parents from the first moment we met you. And that will never change. Do you understand?"

Ziva nodded. She understood.

"Do you have any other questions about this?" Gibbs asked.

"What's Israel like?" she wondered.

"It's… it's a bit different from here", Jenny said and shared a look with Gibbs. "But it's a very beautiful country with a rich history."

"Maybe one day", Gibbs said. "I can take you there and show you. Because even though you're meant to be here, we know you might wonder more about where you came from. And that's not strange. So maybe when you're older we can go visit."

"I think I would like that", Ziva nodded and smiled a bit.

"Come talk to us if you have any other questions or want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good", Jenny said and hugged her. "Let's get you back to bed, it's really late."


	4. Tony

**Here is the last chapter! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4 – Tony

Tony was excited. He and his siblings would be going with their dad to the city. Gibbs had a bunch of furniture to deliver to people and had agreed to take the kids. Tony had only been to the city once and he'd been really little at that point. He barely remembered it.

They had all helped Gibbs load the wooden furniture onto the carriage and made sure that everything was fastened. Gibbs would sit up front on the bench, then the furniture was fastened on the loading area right behind him and then there was a low wall before where Tony and his siblings would sit so that the heavy furniture couldn't slide towards them. Gibbs had as usual asked if anyone wanted to ride with him in the front, but none of them would miss the opportunity of the freeing feeling of sitting backwards, dangling their feet over the edge. Jenny made them promise that they would be careful and gave them a bell so that if something happened they could call on Gibbs without being worried that he wouldn't hear them.

Jenny carefully lifted Abby up on the carriage and Tony heard her giving the youngest some extra warnings. Tim took her hand and dragged her down next to him where he sat leaning against the side. Ziva was standing by the other side, looking as excited as Tony felt. Kate was petting the two horses that had already been fastened to the carriage. Tony jumped up next to Ziva. This would be great.

"We're leaving", Gibbs declared and put the horses in motion.

Kate waited for the whole carriage to pass her before running with it. Tony stretched out a hand and helped her up. They sat down by the edge and watched the road running below their feet. Tony sighed contently and leaned back on his elbows. It was a nice, warm day. The sky was blue and the birds sang.

It had been awhile since they had gotten to ride on the carriage. They mostly took it when Gibbs had business in the smaller city off to the opposite direction from where they were going today. Tony had been there a couple of times but lately Gibbs had opted to go alone. Tony figured that was because of Abby. That was the city she came from and Gibbs didn't want to take her back there until she was older. Therefore, none of the siblings had gone with him in the last year.

But the larger city was something else. Gibbs rarely went there, but this time he had a bunch of things to deliver. Jenny thought it would be good for them to see something other than the farm and the village where school and Ducky was at. So it was decided that they would all go with him. Jenny was keeping up the fort at home while they were away for the day.

"What do you think it's like?" Kate asked.

"Don't know", Tony shrugged. "Haven't been there since I was little."

"Do you remember that?" Ziva asked.

"Nah, not really", Tony admitted.

"But what do you think it will look like?" Kate pressed on.

"Probably a lot of buildings. Large ones. A lot of people as well; there are many living in one place. We'll see."

He contemplated going in on a story of what the big city would look like, but decided against it. He would just make up stuff in that case. Which he may or may not always do when telling stories. But he just loved how round Abby's eyes got and how Ziva tried to seem like she didn't believe him, but always looked a bit unsure. However, today he was just as curious as the rest of them and didn't feel like making stuff up.

All five of them switched between sitting, standing by the sides and lying on their backs throughout the ride. It took a long time to get to the city. They entertained themselves by arguing about what the few clouds in the sky looked like, playing games and at one point when Gibbs had to slow down because the road was very narrow, Tony jumped down on the ground and grabbed a handful of gravel that he and Ziva would compete in throwing from the edge.

Then suddenly Abby gave out a little shriek and pointed in the direction they were going.

"Look!" she said.

Tony leaned out from the side and saw a group of buildings coming closer.

"We're there in a little bit", Gibbs shouted from the front.

Tony and Tim exchanged excited grins. They drew closer and suddenly there were many more carriages and many more people walking around them. It smelled a bit strange at first but by the time they reached a square Tony was already used to it. The buildings around them were tall and sat together in rows. Everything was grey or brown and rather dull-looking, but that didn't matter much. There were so many different people. A couple of them smiled or waved.

The square was full of stands where people were selling all kinds of things. Some had parked their carriages and were selling directly from them. There were a lot of noises everywhere. People shouting at each other, children laughing, horses neighing. Gibbs stopped at a free spot at the edge of the square and stepped down. He walked back and leaned against the side to speak to his children.

"This is where I'll be staying", he told them. "There will be people coming here throughout the day to collect what they've ordered. I would appreciate it if you would stay and help carry. But", he said as he saw Tony, Ziva and Kate's faces. "I know you three want to look around a bit and that's fine. But keep close, okay? Don't go too far. And stick together."

"Yes sir", Tony said and Ziva nodded.

They shared a look and disappeared with Kate into the crowd. There were so many things going on. People loudly selling food, clothes or yarn, boxes, plates, bags; a whole bunch of different things. There was one man in a fraying but fancy jacket, with a top hat on his head, claiming to be able to do magic. Tony, Ziva and Kate stopped there for a while and watched his tricks.

Some were playing games like a man who challenged people to guess under which of three cups he had put a marble. That one was less interesting than the magic.

"Look, chickens", Kate said and pointed to a cage containing at least half a dozen chickens. And there weren't just chickens around the square. There were one or two dogs roaming about, some people who had a couple of sheep tied to their stand, horses of course, and even a lady with a cow.

Tony, Ziva and Kate wandered around the whole square before stepping off to one of the streets leading from it. Tony instantly noticed an interesting-looking alley and went to investigate. They really didn't have many alleys around the countryside.

"We probably shouldn't go in there, Tony", Kate said nervously. "Dad said not to go too far."

"I know, but this isn't far", Tony said. "It's fine."

The alley was rather dark even though it was daytime. The tall houses on either side of it cast shadows. Suddenly there were some scrabbling noises and two figures emerged before them. They were kids, probably not much older than Tony himself, but in this lack of light they looked a little bit frightening.

"What are you doing in our alley?" one of them said.

"This is your alley?" Ziva said.

Both of them nodded and took a step closer. Both boys were dressed in ill-fitting, dirty clothes. The taller of them had his arms crossed but Tony thought it was just in an attempt of looking tough and intimidating.

"Do you have money?" the shorter asked.

"No", Tony said.

"Food?"

He shook his head. The boys looked a bit disappointed.

"How do we know you're not lying?" the taller said suspiciously.

"We aren't lying", Kate said angrily.

"But how do we know?"

Tony flipped the empty pockets in his pants inside out to prove their point.

"Oh", the taller one admitted defeat. "Then what are you doing in our alley?"

"Just looking around", Tony said.

"You should leave. This is our place."

"But what do you have it for?" Ziva asked. "It's just an alley."

The shorter one looked at her like she was stupid and pointed towards the building on the right. Tony looked over and saw a sign spelling out the words _Burke's Bakery_.

"This is where they throw out the burnt bread", the boy said. "But you got to be the first one here to catch it."

"Yeah, this is our territory", the other one said. "So scram."

Tony didn't think these boys were very violent but he noticed Kate shifting towards the street, looking a bit nervous.

"Alright", he said. "Let's go."

The three left the alley and were immediately brought back to the happy chaos that was the square.

"Can we go back to dad?" Kate asked.

Ziva nodded and the two lead the way while Tony followed close behind. They joined Gibbs, Tim and Abby and started to help carrying furniture from their carriage to customers. They were at it for some time, but it was kind of fun. Many of the customers joked and talked to them, and one even gave them a piece of candy each.

When all the furniture was gone, Gibbs bought them soup from an old little lady standing behind a stand. The sun was starting to go down and when they were done eating Gibbs declared that it was time to go home. They went back to the carriage and got ready for leaving. They had a lot more space now, since all the furniture was gone. Gibbs had brought blankets for them and after a while one after one fell asleep to the gentle bumping of horse and carriage on gravel road.

Tony was the last one still awake. He thought back on those two boys in the alley. He had noticed that the encounter had fallen out of his sisters' minds once they had been preoccupied with moving furniture. He, however, was still thinking a bit about it. Especially now, in the quiet dark on the carriage with all his siblings sleeping around him. He looked down at Abby and realized that was how she had lived before she'd gotten to the Gibbs family. She had been like those boys; dirty, hungry, eating brunt food that people threw away. He realized how glad he was that she had found her way to them. He couldn't imagine her living on the streets.

Abby was where she was supposed to be. They were all best together. Five instead of four, seven instead of six. Like in football, they were better as a team.

He smiled and looked up to the sky.


End file.
